Friday, August 4, 2017

The bishops on equality are not nearly as clever as they think

Meet Gloria Purvis. Although she has a day job, Purvis is pretty much a professional orthodox Catholic. She is also a bigot. She's made a little video for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops website, Marriage Unique for a Reason. That “reason” is irrational dependence on ancient chronicles of dubious provenance.

The bishops try to tee it up:

In this clip, Gloria Purvis discusses the common comparison of the “Equality” movement to the Civil Rights Movement, pointing out that the ethos is of a completely different character.

To the extent that the comparison is “common” it is such primarily among conservative Christians who use the Civil Rights Movement to demonstrate the differences and then proclaim that we are not entitled to comparable equal treatment. The overall intent is to claim that we are pilfering something from Black people. What is common among the civil rights movement and LGBT equality are the constitutional guarantees of equal protection and due process. African-Americans achieved that, in part, through the 1964 Civil Rights Act as amended. However, African-Americans do not own those constitutional guarantees.

Gay people are not a protected class under the 1964 law. In many locales — and I know this is a bit trite — we can get married over the weekend and then fired on Monday because of a picture of our spouse on our desk. Ms. Purvis seems to think that is fair. I do not.

You can watch the video below. According to Purvis, the biggest difference was that the Civil Rights movement was a Christian endeavor while the LGBT rights movement is anti-Christian. The LGBT rights movement is not anti-Christian. We oppose people and organizations that spread lies about us; that claim that we have a treatable disease; that claim that we are evil perverts intent on raping children; that claim that sexual orientation and gender identity are choices; that routinely smear transgender people, that liken us to those engaged in bestiality and so on. The simple fact is that most of those offensive, bigoted people and organizations are conservative Christian. Ms. Purvis is in that category.

Purvis also claims, in essence, that the Civil Rights movement was divinely inspired while LGBT equality is about acceptance of “sexual activity.” Get a clue Ms. Purvis. Sexual activity has nothing whatsoever to do with equal protection. Catholic schools do not fire people because they engage in gay sex. Catholic schools fire people because they are gay. Catholic schools do not hire transgender people because an amateur psychiatric practitioner — the pope — rattles on endlessly about the evils of what he ignorantly calls “gender ideology.”

Presumably, in the following passage, they are addressing the outcome of Obergefell. NOM has used the very same theme:

King writes, “Now, what is the difference between the two [just and unjust laws]? How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law.”

When did Christians gain a monopoly on what is just and moral? During ethnic cleansing of Native Americans or was it during slavery and then segregation? Perhaps they accomplished that through “restricted” hotels and restaurants. Furthermore, they cite Aquinas at their own peril. The 13th century monk was an advocate of slavery.

I happen to think that the way LGBT people are sometimes treated by Christians is profoundly immoral and unjust. They make our community's children miserable and they make the children of gay couples miserable. Where is the morality and justice in that? Indeed, where is the morality and justice in torturing science and logic to conform to untrue religious teachings? Where, indeed, is the morality and justice in marginalizing a group of people?

In fact, let me be even clearer. I am goddamned angry. I am angry that parents and children are coerced into toxic pseudo-scientific therapy. I am angry that, in spite of the inherent dangers, transgender kids are treated cruelly and their parents are coerced into not providing the care that they really need because the pope does not approve. I am goddamned angry that the Church fires good people because they are gay and have the temerity to marry. I am goddamned angry that the Courage Ministry even exists. But most of all, I am angered by the sanctimonious hypocrisy of people who consider themselves paragons of virtue for being faithful Christians as they treat others like crap.